Flexible connection and suspension device for gearless motors.



PATENTBD APR. 3, 1906.

R. SIEGPRIED, FLEXIBLE CONNECTION ANB SUSPENSION DEVICE FOR GEARLESS MOTORS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 22. 19435v 2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

4 M .$.61 L l.

ATTORNEY No. 816,6l.

PATETBD APR. 3, 1906.

R. SIEGFRIED. FLEXIBLE CONNECTION AND SUSPENSION DEVICE POR GBARLESS MOTORS.

APPLUBTIOH FILED KAYJZ. 1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

INVENTDH WITNESSES Zy @Mv 6.6M

NITED sfrnfrns rn'rnnfr OFFICE.

ROBERT SIEGFRIED, OF P YIVSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC & MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A CORPORATION Ol? PENNSYLVANIA.

FLEXIBLE CONNECTlON AND SUSPENSlUN DEVlCE F08 GEABLESS MOTORS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 3, i906,

Application filed Mey 22. 1905. Serial Re. 281,6?3.

.To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ROBERT Sinornrnn, e citizen of the United States, and a resident of Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny end State of Pennsylvanie, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Flexible Connection and Suspension Devices for Georless Motors, of which the iollowingis n. specificetion. f'

My invention relates to electrically propelled vehicles, and particularly to ineens for operetiveiy connecting the erinntures'of geerless motors to the truck-wheels of such vehicles.

The object of my invention is to provide e simple, inexpensive, and durable moons for connectin a. motor armature to e truck Wheel wit out the interposition of speed-reducin gearing.

In t e accornpen 'ng drawings, Figurenl is a plan view, partie ly in seetion, of e portion of a motor and the corresponding portion ci a. truck-wheel. Fig. 2 is an end elevation of one of the helical springs utilized in the structure shown in Fig. l; and Fig. 3 is en end elevetion of e truck-wheel shown in Fig. l, one

of the cover-plates being removed.

While it is the general practico to connect motor-armatures to truck-axles by ineens of speed-reducing gearing, various expedicnts have been devised and tried for utilizing slow-speed motors to drive vehicles without the use of speed-reducing caring, Such expedients have not generally been successhil on account of failure to provide or employ satisfactory means for so supporting the niotor-armatures as to avoid injury trom the shocks to which the truck-axles have been subjected in operation. The ineens which I have shown in the accompanying drawings and which I will now describe provides eV uniformly-distributed cushion for supporting the armature in all of its positions and one which is sim le in construction, easily menufactured en applied, and durable in use.

The field-magnetjame 1 of the motor may be sus ended from the truck-freine in any suitab e manner and by any proper means, and the armature 2 of the moto:` may be rigidly mounted upon a, quill or sleeve 3,

that surrounds but is out of contact with the.. Y truck-axle 4. The ull or sleeve 3 is provided with either a. laters, ly-projecting flange 5 or of the arms, whichever may be found more convenient or desirable, and projecting from the lenge or from the arms, as the cese may be, is e plurality of hollow bosses, which are preferably cylindrical in contour and may be of any suitable number, eight such bosses being shown in the drawings. These bosses project into corresponding chambers in the truck wheel 8, which are of sufliciently greeter diameter to receive a. cushioningspring 9, on outer bearing-shell 10, and en inner shell l l, having et its inner end a. lateral ilenge 12 and et its outer end e holding-ring 13,"that is screwed upon the end of the shell. The outer end of each of the chambers 7 may be closed by means of a plete 14 which may beheld in position by means of `bolts or screws 15.

Located in the specs between 'the shells 10 end l1 is the helical spring 9, which is of speciel construction to adept it to the present service, es will appear by reference to Fi s. 1 and 2. Each turn ofthe helix is offset om the adjacent turns,-so that no one of the turns engages either the inner shellV or the outer shell for any considerable portion of its iength and no two edjccenttums en age either the enter or the inner shell at c rrespending points or portions. The reldtion between each boss, t e corresponding cheres?` ber, and the spring is thereforeV such that c' considerable resistance is exerted by it, end 85 may fill the cavity in each of the bosses 6 with 9o cotton or wool Waste 16 and edd sucent oil to the Weste so that the desired amount will leak into the surrounding space occupied` 4 by the spring. Leakage of oil from the spring-chamber is prevented by a pecking- 9 5 rmg 17 formed of felt or other suitable matene Located in an annuler recess 1 8 in the inner face of the wheel and proiecting beyond the outermost portion of the ieee is a, formed of soft rubber or other suitable yielding resilient material to receive the end thrust uill 3 and the armature 2.

I desire it to be understood that ell'varie.-

tions in form, dimensionsil end relations o'1o5 parts that do not change t e mode of opera- I9, roo

LL a wheel therefor, provided with a set of cylindrical chambers, the axes of which are substantially parallel to the wheel-axis, of a quill or sleeve provided with a set of cylindrical bosses at one end that project into the wheeli' chambers, and a resilient, cushioningr means inter osed between each boss and the surroun ing wall of its chamber.

3. The combination with a truck-axle and a wheel therefor, provided with a set of chamy bers, of a quill or sleeve loosely surrounding the axle and provided with bosses that roject from one end into the correspon ing wheel-chambers, and a helical spring intel'- posed between each of the bosses and the sur rounding wall of its chamber.

4. The combination with a truck-axle and a wheel therefor, rovided with a cylindrical chamber, of a quili) or sleeve loosely surrounding the axle and provided with a cylindrical boss that projects into the wheel-chamber, and a helical s ring surroundin the boss, each turn of which is offset from t e adjacent turns so that no two ad'acent turns make either internal or external contact at corresponding points.

5. The combination with a truck-axle and a wheel therefor, having a set of cylindrical chambers, of a motor-armature, a sleeve or quill therefor, that loosely surrounds the axle, and is provided with a set of bosses that project into the wheel-chambers, a helical spring surrounding each of the bosses, each turn of which is offset from the adjacent turns so that no two adjacent turns make either interna] or external contact at corres ending points, and means for retaining eac spring 1n position on the corresponding boss.

6. The combination with a truck-axle and a wheel therefor, having a cylindrical charliber, of a motor-armature having a sleeve or quill loosely surrounding the axle, and provided with a hollow cylindrical boss that projects into the wheel-chamber, a helical sprin r that surrounds the said boss and is so forme( that each turn of the helix is offset from the adjacent turns, and means Within the hollow bosses for lubricating the springs.

7. The combination with a truck-axle and a wheel therefor, having a plurality of cylindrical chambers the axes of which are substantially parallel to the wheel axis, of a siaeii sleeve or quill loosely surrounding the axle, and provi( cd with hollow cylindrical bosses that project into the wheel-chambers, helical springs surroundinr the respective bosses, each turn of each o which is offset from thc adjacent turns so that each of the turns is eccentric with reference to the others, and means located within each boss for providing lubricating material to the corresponding spring.

8. The combination with a truck-axle, and a wheel therefor, having a plurality of cylind rical chambers, of a quill or sleeve having a plurality of bosses that severally roject into said chambers and a plurality ofhe ical springs severally surrounding the bosses within the chambers and cach having a plurality of consecutive turns cach of which is eccentric with reference to the others, so that no two of the said consecutive turns engage either the chamber or the boss at corresponding points.

9. The combination with a wheel having one or more chambers offset from its axis and a drivin member, the axis of which is normally coincident with that of the wheel and havin one or more bosses that project into sai chamber or chambers, of a helical spring surrounding said boss or each of them, each convolution o? which is eccentric to adjacent convolutions.

10. The combination with a member having a cylindrical chamber and another member having a boss that projects into the chamber, of a helical spring surroundinv the boss and interposed between the boss and the walls of the chamber, the spring being formed so that no two adjacent convolutions normally engage either the boss or the chamber-walls on a line parallel with the axis of the boss.

11. The combination with two rotatable members having normally coincident axes, one of said members having one or more chambers and the other having one or more corresponding bosses that project into said chamber or chambers, of a helical spring surrounding said boss or each of them, each convolution of which is eccentric with reference to adjacent convolutions.

12. The combination with a truck-wheel and its axle, of a motor-armature, a quill therefor that loosely surrounds the axle, yielding connections between the quill and the truck-wheel and a cushionin -rin interposed between the end of the quil an the truckwheel.

13. The combination with a truck-axle and a wheel therefor, provided with a chamber, of a motor-armature having a quill or sleeve provided with a boss that projects mto the wheelchamber, and a compressible, resilient means that surrounds the boss within the chamber.

14. The combination with a truck-axle and a wheel therefor, provided with a set of chambers, of a quill or sleeve provided wlth a IOO IOS

set of bosses at one end that project into the wheel-chambers, and a resilient cushioning means that surrounds each boss within its chamber.

15. The combination with a truck-axle and a Wheel therefor, provided with a chainber, of a quill or sleeve loosel surrounding the axle and provided with a oss that rojects into the wheel-chamber, and a he ical spring surrounding the boss, each turn of which is odset from the adjacent turns so that no two adjacent turns make either internal or external contact at corresponding points.

i6. The combination with a truck-axle and a wheel therefor, having a set of chenibers, of a motor-armature, a sleeve or quill therefor, that loosely surrounds the axle, and is provided with a set of bosses that project into the wheel-chambers, a helical spring surrounding each of the bosses, each turn of which is oset from the adjacent turns so that no two adjacent turns make either internal or external contact at corresponding points, and means for retainin each spring in position on the corresponding oss,

17. The combination with a truck-axle and a wheel therefor, having a chamber, of a motor-armature having a sleeve or qui loosely surrounding the axle, and provided with a hollow boss that projects into the wheel-chamber, a helical spring that surrounds the said boss and is so formed that each turn of the helix is offset from the adjacent turns, and means within the hollow bosses for lubricating the springs.

18. The combination with a truck-axle I and a wheel therefor, having a plurality of l chambers, the axes of which are substantiall f parallel to the wheehaxis, of a sleeve or quil loosely surrounding the axle, and provided with hollow bosses that project into l the Wheel-chambers, helical springs sur rounding the respective bosses, each turn of each of which is offset from the adjacent turns so that each of the turns is eccentric with reference to the others, and means located within each boss for providing lubricating material to the corresponding slpri Y i9. The combination witi a treo ax e, and a wheel therefor, having a plurality of chambers, of a quill or sleeve having a plurality of bosses that severally project into said chambers and a plurality of helical springs severall surrounding the bosses Within the chain ers and each having a lurality of consecutive turns each eccentric with reference to the others, so that no two of the said consecutive turns engage either the chamber or the boss.

20. The combination with a wheel havin one or more chambers odset from its axis and a driving member, the axis of which is normally coincident with that of the wheel, and having one or more bosses that project into said chamber or chambers, of a resilient cushion surrounding said boss, or cach oi them.

21. The combination with a member having a chamber and another member having a boss that projects into the chamber, of a helical spring surrounding the boss and interposed between the boss and the walls of the chamber, the spring being formed so that no two adjacent convolutions normali engage either the boss or the chamber-wa ls on a line parallel with the axis of the boss.

22. The"Y combination with two rotatable members having normally coincident axes, one of said members having one or more chambers and the other having one or more corresponding bosses that project into said chamber or chambers, of a resilient cushion snrroiinding said boss, or cach of them.

vln testimony whereof l have hereunto subscribed iny naine this 20th dayr of May, 1905.

ROBERT SiEGFRIED. Witnesses i B. M. WiLLiAMs, Binner Hines.

of whic i is 

